A
music publisher
is a type of
publisher
that specializes in distributing
music
. Music publishers originally published
sheet music
. When
copyright
became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the
intellectual property
of composers.
Music print publishing
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The term music publisher originally referred to publishers who issued hand-copied or printed sheet music.
Examples (who are actively in business as of June 2019
[update]
) include:
- Breitkopf & Hartel
,
Leipzig
, Germany, founded 1719
- Schott
,
Mainz
, Germany, 1770
- Oxford University Press
, University of Oxford, England, founded 18th century
- Edition Peters
, Leipzig, 1800
- Casa Ricordi
, Milan, Italy, founded 1808 (now owned by
Universal Music Publishing Group
)
- G. Schirmer, Inc.
, New York, United States, founded 1861 (now owned by
Wise Music Group
)
- Universal Edition
, Vienna, Austria, 1901
- Barenreiter
, Germany, founded 1923
- Meisel Music
, Germany, founded 1926
- Boosey & Hawkes
, London, England, founded 1930 (now owned by
Concord
)
- Hans Sikorski
, Hamburg, Germany, 1935 (now owned by Concord)
- PWM
, Krakow, Poland, founded 1945
- G. Henle Verlag
, Munich, Germany, founded 1948
[1]
Other media
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Intellectual property management
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In the
music industry
, a music publisher or publishing company is responsible for ensuring the
songwriters
and
composers
receive payment when their
compositions
are used commercially. Through an agreement called a
publishing contract
, a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects
royalties
and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to
recording artists
, film and television.
[2]
The copyrights owned and administered by publishing companies are one of the most important forms of intellectual property in the music industry. (The other is the copyright on a
master recording
which is typically owned by a
record company
). Publishing companies play a central role in managing this vital asset.
The music publisher's role
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Successful songwriters and composers have a relationship with a publishing company defined by a publishing contract. Publishers also sometimes provide substantial advances against future income. In return, the publishing company receives a percentage, which can be as high as 50% and varies for different kinds of royalty.
There are several types of royalty:
Publishers also work to link up new songs by songwriters with suitable recording artists to record them and to place writers' songs in other media such as movie
soundtracks
and
commercials
. They will typically also handle
copyright registration
and "ownership" matters for the composer. Music print publishers also supervise the issue of
songbooks
and
sheet music
by their artists.
Publishing disputes
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Traditionally, music publishing royalties are split seventy/thirty, with thirty percent going to the publisher (as payment for their services) and the rest going to the songwriter or songwriters. Other arrangements have been made in the past, and continue to be; some better for the writers, some better for the publishers. Occasionally a recording artist will ask for a co-writer's credit on a song (thus sharing in both the artist and publishing royalties) in exchange for selecting it to perform, particularly if the writer is not well known. Sometimes an artist's manager or producer will expect a co-credit or share of the publishing (as with
Norman Petty
and
Phil Spector
), and occasionally a publisher will insist on writer's credit (as
Morris Levy
did with several of his acts); these practices are listed in ascending order of
scrupulousness
, as regarded by the music industry.
The most unscrupulous type of music publisher is the songshark, who does little if any real "legwork" or promotion on behalf of songwriters. Songsharks make their profit not on royalties from sales, but by charging inexperienced writers for "services" (some real, such as
demo
recording or
musical arranging
, some fictional, such as "audition" or "review" fees) a legitimate publisher would provide without cost to the writer, as part of their job. (By comparison, a bona fide publisher who charges admission to a workshop for writers, where songs may be auditioned or reviewed, is not wrong to do so.)
Rock-n-roll pioneer
Buddy Holly
split with longtime manager Petty over publishing matters in late 1958, as did
the Buckinghams
with producer
James William Guercio
almost a decade later.
John Fogerty
of
Creedence Clearwater Revival
(CCR) was sued by his former publisher
Saul Zaentz
(who'd also served as his manager) over a later Fogerty song that sounded slightly like a CCR song Zaentz published. (Fogerty won in court.)
Several bands and artists own (or later purchase) their own publishing, and start their own companies, with or without help from an outside agent. The sale or loss of publishing ownership can be devastating to a given artist or writer, financially and emotionally. R&B legend
Little Richard
was largely cheated on his music publishing and copyrights, as were many performers.
Brian Wilson
and
Mike Love
of
The Beach Boys
were crushed to learn that
Murry Wilson
(father to three of the Beach Boys, Love's uncle, and the band's music publisher) had sold their company
Sea of Tunes
to
A&M Records
during 1969 for a fraction of what it was worth – or earned in the following years.
A large factor in
the Beatles' breakup
was when their publisher
Dick James
sold his share of
Northern Songs
, the company they'd formed with him in 1963 (then taken public in 1967, with shares trading on the
London Stock Exchange
), to Britain's
Associated TeleVision
(ATV) in 1969. Neither
the Beatles
nor managers
Lee Eastman
and
Allen Klein
were able to prevent ATV from becoming majority stockholders in Northern Songs, whose assets included virtually all the group's song copyrights. Losing control of the company,
John Lennon
and
Paul McCartney
elected to sell their share of Northern Songs (and thus their own copyrights), while retaining their writer's royalties. (
George Harrison
and
Ringo Starr
retained minority holdings in the company.)
See also
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Notes
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Further reading
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External links
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